Corning video presents new vision of the future of glass and other tech

Nearly a year ago, Corning (maker of Gorilla Glass), released a video encapsulating it’s vision of the future. It’s since gotten 17 million views on youtube, and started numerous discussions and responses.

In the video, Corning predicted large scale desktop touchscreen displays, bigger video screens, and dynamic billboards. And while much of the video is still in the future, the OLED TV’s shown by LG at this year’s CES do seem to bring the video to life.

Despite the fact that most of what was in the video still hasn’t come to reality, Corning apparently isn’t one to stand still. Just under a year after A Day of Glass was released, Corning released A Day of Glass 2.

The vision is even more heady, with nearly every surface you can see turning out to be an interactive glass screen. Windows, car dashboards, tables. There’s even a large wall in a forest (which is actually a cool concept when you watch the video.) Which parts are reality, which are close, and which are still far, far off?

Corning has an answer for those questions as well. Along with A Day Made of Glass 2, it released a second video, with a narrator to help explain the technologies and devices. As a tech enthusiast, I personally found it even more interesting than the basic video.

There was one aspect though which wasn’t explained, or even really touched on. During the video conferencing that the Dad was having with another hospital, the second doctor would move in relation to the readouts on the wall, as if he was really standing behind the glass. On a display with today’s technology, he and the readouts would be fixed, because the screen cannot tell where the user’s perspective is.

However, Microsoft is working on that problem. The Verge got a look into Microsoft’s Edison Lab back in December, and posted a lengthy video.

One of the things that Microsoft is working on is a smart wall, which would be able to tell where the user is standing, and change everything to match that person’s perspective.

With the technology that they and others are developing, Corning’s vision might not be as far away as we think. And hopefully a year from now, Corning will show us another glimpse into the future with A Day Made of Glass 3.

One Comment

One interesting idea in all of this is how readily available will all this technology be to lower and middle class income families. We look at electronics that are available today, and based on the cost (especially Apple,) there is still a pretty big digital divide between the people who have the money to purchase such versatile equipment and those who do not. It will be interesting to see how this new technology will be incorporated into today’s modern world and whether everyone or only some will be able to enjoy its benefits.